Triterpenoid constituents of rose-bay willow-herb

Abstract

The leaves of rose-bay willow-herb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) are shown to contain ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, maslinic acid, and a hitherto unknown acid, 2α-hydroxyursolic acid. A partial synthesis of the new acid is described and some of its derivatives are compared with the corresponding derivatives of the isomeric maslinic acid.